- The child photographed is a far cry from the heavily decorated icon of today.
- The photograph was published in honor of Father’s Day in Portugal and Spain
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Few football fans of the 21st century do not recognize this young player who has become an adult.
But in a retrospective image of the global star as a child, even the most discerning fans might struggle to identify the serious young man in the white suit and gloves.
Photographed with his parents in his hometown, the child looks out at a world far different from his 2024 reality, a constant stream of glittering venues, luxury cars and awards in recognition of his sporting excellence.
The photo itself was even shared by the international star’s museum – a legacy that might have been unimaginable to the youngster when he posed for the snap.
Can you guess who it is?
This photo of a contemporary sports icon as a child is barely recognizable to most fans.
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The player in question is of course Cristiano Ronaldo, at the center of an Instagram post shared by his CR7 museum in Funchal, Madeira, dedicated to his outstanding career.
In the photo, the Al-Nassr star poses alongside his mother Dolores and father José Dinis Aveiro, with the museum selecting the vintage snap in honor of Father’s Day in Portugal.
Ronaldo’s start in youth football stemmed from his father’s role as a kit man at local club Andorinha, but the budding superstar would play in Madeira for just five years before being spotted by Portuguese big leagues Sporting CP at the age of 12.
The Manchester United player was to lose his father at the age of 20 just eight years later, with Aveiro dying of liver failure linked to alcoholism after battling addiction for much of Ronaldo’s childhood .
Aveiro’s drug addiction was such that it contributed to Ronaldo’s mother’s initial decision to have an abortion after she became pregnant with her youngest son.
The family also struggled with poverty and the couple already had three young children: their brother Hugo and their two sisters Elma and Katia.
But Dolores was denied the procedure due to Portugal’s strict abortion laws, in an incident she has previously described as an act of God.
“I wanted to have an abortion but God didn’t want that to happen,” she told viewers of the 2015 documentary film Ronaldo.
“Cristiano was an unwanted baby but he gave me so much joy.”
She also revealed that her son used to taunt her about the crisis of faith that surrounded his birth.
Cristiano Ronaldo is now the father of five children himself, including Cristiano Ronaldo Jnr (centre right)
The Al-Nassr star lost his father José Dinis Aveiro to liver failure when he was just 20 years old.
The former Real Madrid and Man United star remains extremely close to his mother Dolores
“Sometimes Ronaldo makes fun of me and says: ‘You didn’t want me to be born. But now you see I’m here to help you all.”‘ Aveiro said of the multi-millionaire, who bought him the seven-millionaires Funchal apartment-style villa to live in five years ago .
“Well, sometimes we laugh about it.”
Ronaldo is now the father of five of his own children, including Cristiano Ronaldo Jnr – whose mother’s identity has never been revealed – and twins Eva and Mateo, born via a surrogate mother.
His longtime partner, Georgina Rodriguez, acts as a stepmother to his offspring and is the biological mother of Alana Martina and their youngest child, Bella Esmeralda.